Conman dupes cricketer Rishabh Pant and many luxury hotels
Conman dupes cricketer Rishabh Pant and many luxury hotels
A conman and formerly a U-19 cricketer for Haryana cheated multiple luxury hotels and resorts and even India’s wicket keeper-batsman, Rishabh Pant.
The former U-19 cricketer, Mrinank Singh, posed as an IPL cricketer who played for the Mumbai Indians from 2014 to 2018 and used this claim to create an impression that he was ‘popular’. It helped him influence women, dine in expensive restaurants and stay in five-star hotels without paying bills.
In 2022, the conman stayed at the Taj Palace Hotel in Delhi for a week. He left the luxury hotel without settling a bill of ₹ 5.53 Lakh and told the staff that he was a cricketer and Adidas would be paying the amount. The hotel staff believed him and shared the bank details. He shared an ID of a transaction worth ₹ 200,000 lakh, but it turned out to be fake, and police were made aware of the incident.
The man knew that the police were after him, so he kept his phone off to not leave any trace of his whereabouts. He made his acquaintances believe that he was settled in Dubai.
A lookout notice was issued against him and the man was detained at the immigration office of the Delhi airport while he was trying to escape to Hong Kong on December 25, almost a year after the incident.
The police found that he also cheated cricketer Rishabh Pant of ₹ 1.63 crore in 2020-2021. His other victims include cab drivers, young women, bars, restaurants, etc.
The conman has over 40,000 followers on Instagram account, where he has shared several pictures of his ‘luxury lifestyle’. Several cases have been registered against him in different states, the police said.
According to police, he is a Commerce graduate from Delhi University’s Hindu College.
He did an MBA in Human Resources from OPJS University in Rajasthan and his family has disowned him as ‘they have no control over him’. The accused has been sent to two-day police custody and a probe is underway.
